36 years old and high FSH - advice please!!

[CrCaLa]

Hi all

I'm 36 tomorrow and have been ttc for 19 months with no success. I had my final appointment with the fertility specialist today and she told me that all my tests are normal and so are my husbands, except for my FSH level which is 9, so higher than it should be which means my ovarian reserves are low / poor quality. So she said she is going to refer me immediately for IVF. She said worst case scenario it would mean donor eggs. Which has been a lot of info to process and has left me feeling pretty scared!

I have been googling FSH 9 but there's so much conflicting advice as to what is high and low and how it affects things so I'm just hoping I can get people's own experience.

Has anyone my age had that FSH level or higher? Did you have that result and then get retested later and it changed either higher or lower? Did you still qualify for IVF with 9 or above? Did you go onto conceive naturally or via IVF?

Sorry so many questions! I hope someone can help. Thanks in advance xx

Hello, I have been referred to IVF and I am 35 as my ovarian reserve is low however my FSH was 5.i would ask for the amh test to have a better picture as it tells you how many eggs you have left...FSH can vary a lot.you qualify for IVF if the amh test is above 5,at least in the Sussex area.

9 is not super high for a 36 year old. But I'd agree with pp that Amy and anc could help build a better picture. Fsh of 9 just means you won't respond to the ivf drugs like a 25 year old would so you may need slightly higher doses. It's quality over quantity - all you need is one good egg. The best indicator of quality is age and you aren't that old in the ttc world!!

Hi there, I’m 42 and 9 weeks pregnant. My fsh was measured at 18.5 a couple of months before the bfp. I read on MN that it can be disregarded to a high extent.

I had acupuncture after the result though which might have helped?

My fsh was 12 when I was 34. Cue much panic and was sent to the fertility clinic pronto. The amh result was 2,7- so pretty terrible.

However I’ve been pregnant 3 times and had 2 live births since (1 via ivf and one naturally).

It really is all about quality.

Thank you all that's really reassuring. They just didn't give me much information at my appointment and said the ivf consultant would give me more detail but that appointment feels ages away and im just the kind of person who overthinks!x

I am planning to start acupuncture shortly and continue that all through ivf so hopefully that will help too.

Hi *CrCaLa,

FSH can fluctuate wildly from cycle to cycle. I am proof of that- first test 11.9, then 14 and most recently 5.4. I am a year older than you. I did have to take high dose meds and didn't get double figure eggs, however as many say, it's quality over quantity.
Good luck with it all.

Interesting that you are all being referred for IVF with these results. I'm 32 and had an FSH reading of 14 and was told they can't help me

Sorry to hear that. Surely they can still help even with that FSH result?? Even if it turned out your eggs aren't viable what about donor eggs? I know different trusts have different policies but that doesn't seem right. Can you appeal at all?

Yorkshirelass I've also heard elsewhere results can fluctuate so will have to wait for he next test to get a clearer idea. I was initially alarmed because they were all 'keep trying and hopefully we won't need to go down the ivf route' and then suddenly 'fsh 9 we are immediately referring you to ivf'. The sudden change of tune threw me a bit and started me panicking. I hope your ivf ended positively. Thanks for your reply

Hi, I'm 32 with an FSH of 12. FSH has no impact on your natural fertility each month as long as you're ovulating.

It's more concerning if you need IVF - which we did for male reasons, it's important for IVF as it's a very rough guide to how many eggs they may get. However AMH and antral follicle count are much better markers of ovarian reserve. Despite my FSH and an AMH iN the bottom 5% for my age group I got 20 eggs on cycle 1. Cycle 2 they reduced the dose of drugs and I still got 22! I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant with 2 frozen embryos IN the freezer too. So don't lose all hope just get the ball rolling ASAP xx

@juneybean , you should be referred to a fertility clinic? Guidelines are if FSH >9.5 you should be referred urgently.

My FSH was 5 in day 3 but amh was low 7 so I have been referred to IVF. I thought that if one is bad the other as well but apparently no,are they related?

FSH isn't very accurate as it fluctuates loads - they always take the highest reading as the most accurate. My FSH was bad for my age but AMH in normal range (but right at the bottom) and my AFC "reassuringly good" (to quote the consultant) so it really is a combination of all 3 that helps guide them

@hoping2018 it was the fertility clinic who took my bloods they have took more for an AMH test but still their line is "we can't help you" - we are a same sex couple so they would want us to have had 12 cycles of IUI.

Maybe if the AMH comes back low they will offer something

Hi @juneybean , that makes sense. As I said high FSH has no bearing on your natural fertility and so they will ask you to keep trying for 6 months-1 year prior to ivf. I guess 12 IUI's is effectively 12 months of trying for a heterosexual couple. We had male factor infertility so went for urgent ivf as we were unlikely to conceive on our own - as long as you have a good sperm donor you have every chance of IUI working!

I don't have any money for 12 cycles of IUI :( Suppose we will save up and try for a private IVF.

@juneybean yep it's rubbish. My friend and her wife did 6 months with a private sperm donor then moved to ivf. But ivf is expensive. they've had one fresh transfer and one frozen with no luck and are now paying for 3 freeze all cycles in a row.

I had nhs cycle and told my chances of success were very low due to embryo quality so we paid for the 100% refund access fertility programme for three cycles which cost £12000 - got pregnant first cycle with them so possibly wasted money (though I'm very early so it's nice to know if this doesn't work out I've got 2 FET and two more fresh cycles paid for too) we've also spent another £4500 on various other tests etc. It's eye watering - I try not to think about it!